Paramount theme park planned in Britain

Paramount has signed a deal for a theme park in Britain based on its movie… (Industrial Light & Magic )

A group of British developers has signed a licensing deal with Paramount Pictures for a planned 2-billion pound theme park outside of London.

The development consortium, London Resort Co. Holdings, has signed a deal to make Paramount film properties such as "Mission: Impossible," "Star Trek" and "Paranormal Activity" part of the park, which it intends to build in North Kent in Southeast England. The agreement is exclusive in the Britain.

(Paramount does not have the right to license its "Transformers" movies, as the property is owned by Hasbro.)

In a statement, London Resort Co. Holdings said it is seeking to sign licensing deals with "major British brands" as well. The group hopes to open its park in 2018, though there are still many steps it must complete to reach that goal.

Paramount has signed a spate of destination entertainment licensing deals recently. Plans include a theme park in Spain, a hotel in Abu Dhabi (the site of much of the action in "Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol"), and a "Star Trek" park in Jordan.

Executives at the studio consult on design at the destinations but do not invest capital in the ventures.

The deals come as theme park attractions based on popular movie characters continue to be hot. Universal Studios is preparing attractions based on "Harry Potter" at its parks in Los Angeles and Japan following the breakout success of one in Orlando, Fla., which it is expanding.

Walt Disney Co. recently revamped its California Adventure park with an attraction based on "Cars," is building an "Avatar" attraction at Disney World in Orlando and is constructing a $4.4-billion theme park in Shanghai.